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Feuding erupts at county

Jan 10, 2013 (The Pueblo Chieftain - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A day after taking the oath of office, friction surfaced between new and former Pueblo County leaders.

Ensnared in the war of words are former Commissioners Jeff Chostner and Anthony Nunez and newly sworn Commissioners Liane "Buffie" McFadyen and Terry Hart. All are Democrats.

Chostner, who left the board of county commissioners for the district attorney's office, took exception to comments McFadyen made to The Pueblo Chieftain after Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony.

McFadyen said she and Hart were not "afforded transition time" to interview county staff.

Chostner called the comments "misleading." Nunez said they "couldn't be farther from the truth."
In an email, Chostner said he wrote to Hart and McFadyen after the election reportedly stating: "I would be most happy to assist with any transition issues they might have. Later in November, I personally made the same offer again."
Chostner said Hart "respectfully and courteously declined" and "I never received
a response from Ms. Mc-Fadyen."
Chostner said he saw Mc-Fadyen at the courthouse during the holidays and "no mention was ever made of interviewing county staff.

Had such a request have been made, we certainly would have granted it, as they have every right, as an incoming commissioner, to interview personnel."
The new commissioners said it didn't happen that way.

None of the three commissioners afforded the opportunity."
McFadyen acknowledged she didn't expect much transition help since she defeated incumbent John Cordova in the primary. "I wasn't expecting a carpet to be rolled out."
Hart said Nunez offered him an early move into his former office, but it wasn't the office he wanted.

Chostner offered help, Hart said, but "I don't recall being told you can use the chambers to interview staff. If he sent me some kind of email that said that, I don't recall it."
Both Hart and McFadyen said that obtaining information and having other requests met by the former commissioners wasn't easy.

"Getting the things I asked for were typically difficult. I didn't ask for a lot," Hart said.

"In fact," McFadyen said, "one of the questions Commissioner Hart and I had recently, in the last month, was the job description of the current administrative staff.